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Upper Surgery Update

01/01/2018

From January 1st 2018, Trans Care BC will take on additional responsibility for coordinating the existing central waitlist for publicly funded upper surgeries, previously managed by Dr. Bowman’s office as part of his work with Vancouver Coastal Health.

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This is part of a wider effort by Trans Care BC in collaboration with Dr. Bowman and the group of plastic surgeons in BC who offer both chest and breast gender-affirming surgeries to make it simpler to access upper surgeries.

What does this mean for me?

If you’re currently on the waitlist – don’t worry, you don’t have to do anything and won’t see any change. Your place on the waitlist won’t be affected and someone from the Trans Care BC team will be in touch in time to book consultation with your preferred surgeon. Once they have received referrals from Trans Care BC, surgeons will book directly with clients.

If you’re not on the waitlist but want to access publicly funded gender-affirming upper surgery, the process is the same. The only difference is that Trans Care BC will be managing the wait list and any questions you have can be directed to the Trans Care team.

Why is this happening?

The wait times for gender-affirming upper surgery have been long, and we’ve worked with a number of experienced plastic surgeons across BC in order to expand access. There are now five surgeons in BC offering both chest and breast construction surgery. The increased number of referrals coupled with the addition of more surgeons has meant that the central waitlist requires more administrative support than Dr. Bowman’s office is able to manage.

If you have any questions about this change, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with Trans Care BC’s care team at 1-866-999-1514 or transcarebc@phsa.ca